Garment-pressing machine



Nov. 5, 1929. F. E. BAKER 1,734,936

GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 VIYTOR W47 @L/AA 45 44 flrro NEYS Nov. 5, 1929.

INVENTOR W 7'7'0 NEYS 14 1 TNESS Nov. 5, 1929. F. E. BAKER 1,734,936

GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1925, I5 Sheets-Sheet 5fillillll! 1H- INWS'NTOI? Q76, Wm

mm 55 MW I 5 W W 1 H7701? EYS Patented Nov. 5, 1929 UNE'E'ED STATESPATNT OFFICE FRANK E. BAKER, OF SYRACUSE, NEW! YORK, ASSIG'NOR TOCHAPIN-SKELTON COR- YORATION, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OFNEW YORK GARMENT-PRESSING MACHINE Application filed April 23, 1925.

This invention relates to a garment pressing machine involving the useof cooperative pressing elements, one of which is movable toward andfrom the other about an axis parallel with the longitudinal centers ofsaid elements and some distance to the rear thereof, and is suitablycounter-balanced to facilitate its operation but refers moreparticularly to pedal-controlled means for effecting such operation.

In machine of this character the main object is to enable the operatorto effect the steaming, pressing and drying operations expeditiously andwith a minimum amount of labor and thereby to greatly increase theoutput for a given period of time.

Another object is to enable the movable pressing element to be moved toand locked in its pressing position and released from such position thruthe medium of a single pedal lever which may also be used forcontrolling the application and withdrawal of the steam to and from thegarment under pressure.

One of the specific objects is to simplify the means for locking andreleasing the movable pressing element in and from its pressingposition.

A further object is to provide means whereby the admission of steam tothe garment for moistening purposes and the withdrawal of the steam andmoisture from the garment for drying purposes may be controlled by theadjustment of a single valve to different positions in a manner similarto that in Patent 1,582,891 granted May 4, 1926 and in Patent 1,641,132granted August 30, 1.927.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the machine will bebrought out in the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a garment pressing machine embodyingthe various features of my invention, the pressing elements being shownin their closed positions.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section and partly broken away ofthe same machine, the dotted lines indicating the open position of thepressing element and operating means Serial No. 25,259.

therefor and also the valve operating means for controlling theadmission of exhaust of steam to and from the buck.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation from the left hand side of themachine, of the portions of the toggle lever 14.- and its operatinglever --23-- showing more clearly the means for limiting the returnmovement of the operating lever following the straightening of thetoggle and the means for flexing the toggle joint to release the headand allow it to return to its uppermost position.

Figure 4, is a detail sectional view taken on line 1t, Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 55, Fig. 2.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the valve for controlling thesupply and exhaust of steam to and from one of the pressing elements,said valve being shown in its closed position.

As illustrated, the frame of this machine comprises an upright standard1 for a suitable supporting base 2 and a forwardly projecting bracket -3carrying a lower pressing element or buck 41- and a suitable work table5. A rock arm 6 is pivotally fulcrumed at 7 upon the upper end of thestandard 1- and has its forward end suit-ably secured to an upperpressing element or head 8- and its rear end provided with a counterweight --9 for counter balancing the weight of the head 8, said headbeing provided with a handle 10- by which the front end of the lever -6-and head 8 carried thereby may be rocked by hand about the axis of thefulcrum 7- against the action of the counter balancing weight 9.

The intermediate portion of the rear end of the lever -6-- is providedon its underside with an abutment 11 adapted to engage a yielding buffer12 of rubber or equivalent material mounted on the upright standard 1-for limiting the opening movement of the press head without excessiveshock.

The arm of the lever 6 -is flexibly connected to the upright standard 1thru the medium of a toggle -l3 having one of its members as 14pivotally fulcrumed at --l5-- to the upright standard -1- while theother member as H is pivotally connected at to a stud 16 which isfustably mounted on the rear end of the e r *6 by means of a hand screwl7- varying the amount of movement of the press head -8 according to thethickness the work operated upon, and to permit straightening of thetoggle '-13 for 'in; the press head in its pressing posi tion whenoperating upon garments of varying thicknesses.

The toggle members 14- and -14 are pivotally connected to each other atl8 to constitute the flexing joint which is movable to and from a directline between the pivots l5 and --l5 as the head -8 is moved to and fromits pressing position so that when straightened the head will be lockedin its pressin position and when flexed rearwardly and downwardly thehead will be automatically opened or raised thru the medium of itscounter weigl t 9.

The toggle member 1 l is provided with one or more yielding buffersadapted to engage portions of the upright standard l for limiting theflexing of the toggle joint to a straightened position when the head isclosed upon the work and also to reduce the shock incidental to suchclosing movement.

The toggle member 1l is preferably made in the form of a bell cranklever having a forwardly and upwardly pro'ecting extension 2l which ispreferably curved longitudinally and is adapted to be engaged by aroller 22- on the upper end of a pedal lever 23- in a manner and for apurpose presentl described.

tion shown by the upper dotted lines in Figure 1 for effecting theclosing movement and locking of the press head in its pressing position.

The lower arm of the pedal lever 23- extends forwardly from the fulcrum2 l to a point near the vertical plane of the front edge of the pressingelements for receiving and supporting a forwardly projecting pedal eseThe rear end of this pedal is pivoted at 97 to the front end of thelever 23 and is provided with a rearwardly and upwardly extending arm-.28 having its upper end pivotally connected at 29- to the front end ofa rearwardly extending link 30, the latter having its rear end pivotedto the fulcrum 15- co-axial with the axis of movement of the togglemember 1 l-.

The object of the particular arrangement and relation of the curvedextension 2land upper end of the bell crank lever 23 above the pivot 15of the toggle 13 is to provide an accelerated initial movement of thepress head from its extreme open position toward its closed position andto grad ually increase the pressure of the movable pressing element uponthe work when in its pressing position by causing the roller 22 to rideagainst the rear curved face of said extension 2lfrom an intermediatepoint toward the outer end of said extension as the press head is forcedto its pressing position thereby increasing the pressure of the presshead upon the work during the pressing operation with a correspondingreduction of power applied to the front end of the lever The object ofthe pedal extension -Q8 and link 30 is to cause the pedal 26 to assumesubstantially parallel horizontal positions in all positions ofadjustment of the lever 23 thereby reducing the amount ofverticalmovement of the pedal from one extreme position to the other forconvenience of operation and also to permit the operating lever Q3 tomove thru a comparatively long are and to permit the press head to bemoved thru a comparatively large angle from its closed to its openedpositions.

As previously explained, the toggle 1 is adapted to flex downwardly andrearwardly from its straightened locked position shown by full lines inFig. 2' to its extreme open position shown by dotted lines in the samefigure, and suitable means is provided for positively locking the togglein its straightened position for holding its press head in its pressingposition and also for offecting the release of the toggle from itslocked position to allow the opening of the press head by its counterweight 9-.

This automatic locking and releasing means is preferably accomplished byone and the same pedal operated lever 23 which is free to rock upon itsfulcrum -9A- inde pendently of the toggle when the latter has beenforced to its straightened locked position and is provided with a rackor bar 3l adapted to cooperate with a latch or pawl -32 on the forwardlyextending arm 21' of the toggle member 14-.

The rack or bar -31 is adjustably mounted upon the lever -23 between thefulcrum 2 l and roller -22 and is provided with a V-shaped groove in itsupper edge, while the latch or pawl 32 is slidably mounted transverselyof and upon the intermediate portion of the extension -21 of the togglemember 1 l and is held in place by guide bolts -33 secured to the arm 21and passed thru an elongated slot -34 in the pawl to permit said pawl tofreely move endwise on the arm 21. The bar 31 is inclined upwardly andrearwardly from its pivot 55 and is adjustable by means of a screw 19thereon against a stop 19'- on the pedal lever -23, Figure 3, while thepawl 32 is adapted to be adjusted endwise by a screw --32 engaging theuppermost bolt 33 as shown in Figure 4.

The pawl 32 is provided with a lower beveled end 35 and is adapted tomove about the axis of the fulcrum thru an are which intersects the arcof movement of the rack or bar 31 about the fulcrum -2land is arrangedto engage in the V- shaped groove as 36 in the upper edge of the bar 31when the pedal lever -Q3 is operated to straighten the toggle 13- orwhen the pedal lever is moved to its lowermost dotted position forlocking said toggle lever and parts operated thereby against reboundfrom the straightened position during the pressing operation.

The lever 23- is provided with a rearward extension S7- connected by aretracting spring -38 to the base 2 of the main supporting frame forreturning the pedal operated lever and pedal thereon to its normalstarting position as shown by the uppermost dotted lines in Figure 2.

A stop pawl 39 is pivoted at 4:0 to a suitable lug on the underside ofthe hub of the toggle member i14- and has its front end weighted andadapted to engage a shoulder 41 on the lever 23 just at the rear of thebar -31- for limiting the upward and rearward rocking movement of thelever 23- to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 2 after it hasbeen opened from its extreme upper position shown by dotted lines at -ato its extreme down position shown by dotted lines indicated at b forstraightening the toggle 13- to its locked position and thereby forcingthe press head to its pressing position, the rear end or heel of thestop pawl 39-- being adapted to engage a shoulder 42 on the lever 14-for limiting the downward movement of the front weighted end of saidstop pawl.

Opera-zfi'onof press head face of the upwardly curved extension 21 onthe toggle arm 14 and by continued movement of the pedal 26 to thelowermost dotted position indicated at b, Figure 2, the toggle 13 willbe brought to a straightened position thereby forcing the press head 8-into press co-action with the buck -4 for effecting the desired pre sureupon theinterposed portion of the gar- Inent.

This straightening movement of the toggle 13 will be limited by theengagement of the buffer with the adjacent portion of the standard 1 andwill also cause the beveled lower edge of the pawl -32 to drop by itsown weight into ongagement with the then underlying upper edge of thebar 31- on the lever 23.

During this forward movement of the upper arm 25 of the lever 23- theshoulder 451 on said lever will ride against the underside and raise theweighted end of the stop pawl39 until said shoulder 41 passes beyond thefront end of the pawl whereupon the weighted end of said pawl will dropby its own weight into the path of movement of the rear face of theshoulder -ll so that when the pressure of the foot upon the pedal 26 isreleased the spring 38 will rock the lever -23 upwardly and rearwardlyuntil stopped by the engagement of the pawl 39 with the shoulder 4l andthereby holding the pedal 26 in the position indicated at -c*, Fig. 2.

During this limited movement of the lever 23 toward its startingposition the bar 31 on said lever will be forced rearwardly out ofengagement with the lower beveled end of the pawl 32 which is free toslide vertically by the engagement of the bar 31 therewith until saidbar passes to the rear of the pawl thus permitting the lower end of thepawl --32- to drop by its own weight to the front of the upper end ofthe bar 31-- leaving the toggle in its straightened locked posit-ion andthe press head in its pressing position at the will of the operator.

When it is desired to release the head from itspressing position it issimply necessary to again depress the pedal -2t3- from the positionshown at c toward the position shown at b-, Fig. 2, thereby rocking theupper portion of the lever 28- forwardly and causing the bar 31 toengage the pawl 32- in front of the fulcrum 15 for rocking the curvedarm 2l upwardly and effectingacorresponding rearward movement of thetoggle joint 13 to flex the toggle fromit-sstraightened position therebyreleasing the head 8 fr-ornits pressing position and permitting it to bereturned to its extreme upward position by the counter weight 9 whilethe spring 38- serves to return the lever 23 to its normal positionindicated at a, Fig. 2, ready for a repetition of the operationspreviously described, it being understood that when the pedal lever isoperated to flex the toggle joint from its locking position, the flexingof said joint will move the pawl 32- away from the bar 31 while theshoulder 41 will be similarly moved away from the stop pawl -3$) topermit the full retraction of the lever 23 by the spring 38.

During this operation of the pedal 26 from its uppermost position shownat a to its lowermost position shown at b, Figure 2, the arm 28 and link-30- connecting the upper end to the pivot 15 serves to hold the pedalin nearly a horizontal position in all positions of adjustment forconvenience of operation and also to shorten the arc of movement to agreater degree than would be the case if the pedal were rigidly securedto the front end of the lever 23.

Steaming and moisture rem-owing In machines of this character thegarments are usually brought to the machine in a dry condition to besteamed and moistened therein for sterilizing and shaping purposes and,therefore, suitable means is provided for supplying steam to the garmentwhile being operated upon by the pressing elements, the same means beingalso employed for withdrawing steam and moisture from the garment andfrom the pressing elements follow- .ing the steaming operation.

This steam supplying and removing means forms the subject matter of myPatent 1,641,132 and comprises a steam pipe 43, leading to thedistributing chamber of one of the pressing elements as, for example,the buck l and an additional pipe 4% leading to a heating chamber insaid element for keeping the same at the desired temperature, both ofsaid pipes being connected to a valve case -l5-- having a single slidevalve which is adapted to be partially opened to one position forcontrolling the passage of steam to the distributing chamber formoistening purposes and to another position for exhausting the steam andmoisture from the garment through the same pipe 4-3-.

Steam is supplied to the valve case -45 by means of a pipe l6- which isin open communication with the pipe l4 to maintain a constant supply ofsteam to the heating chamber without in any way interfering with asupply and exhaust of steam to and from the distributing chamber.

Vihen the valve -45 is adjusted to its full open or exhaust position thesupply of steam through the pipe l3- is cut ofi and, through the mediumof the slide valve or nozzle 4L5 in the valve, steam is projectedthrough an exhaust or waste pipe 47 across the port as l7, Figure 6leading to the pipe 43' for withdrawing the moisture and steam from thebuck through said pipe and discharging it through the exhaust l7.

The operation of this valve may be controlled by a separate pedal -48which is fulcrumed at 49 upon the base 2 of the frame -1 and is providedwith a toggle arm 50 flexibly connected to another toggle arm 51extending upwardly therefrom and having its upper end pivoted at 52 tothe front upper portion of the frame arm 3 as shown in Figure 2.

The arm -51- is connected by a link 53 to the stem -5l of the valve 45and also connected by a retracting spring 56 to the frame member -3.

. The toggle members 50- and 51 are normally flexed rearwardly by thespring, 56 for closing the valve 45 through the medium of the linl 53but may be vmoved to a straightened position by the depression of thepedal 48 as shown by dotted lines in Figure 2 for opening the valvefirst to one position for admitting steam to the garment and them toanother position for cutting Oil the supply of steam to the garment andcausing the steam and moisture to be withdrawn by suction from thegarment and discharged through the pipe t7-.

This operation of the valve may be controlled automatically by the pedal2G by simply providing the pedal 48 with a transversely sliding part 57adapted to be moved at will to and from a position directly under themain pedal 26 so that when the latter is depressed from its extreme upposition shown by dotted lines at a or from its intermediatepositionshown by full lines at c the pedal --4t8 will be similarlydepressed for eifecting the opening movement of the valve 4t5- in themanner previously described.

I claim:

1. In a garment pressing machine having a self-opening press head,toggle-connections between the press head and the frame of the machine,an extension-bearing on one of the toggle members in front of thetoggle-joint and above the connection of the toggle with the frame and apedal-operated lever having means to engage said bearing at graduallyincreasing distances from the connection of the toggle with the framefor straightening the toggle to force the press head to its pressingposition, said lever being movable independently of the toggle when thelatter is straightened, and means actuated by the movement of the leverfor flexing the toggle from its straightened position to allow thepress-head to open.

2. In a garment pressing machine having a self-opening press head,toggle-connections between the press head and the frame of the machine,an extension-bearing on one of the toggle members in front of the togglejoint and above the connection of the toggle with the frame and apedal-operated lever having means to engage said bearing at graduallyincreasing distances from the connection of the toggle with the framefor straightening the toggle to force the press head to its pressingposition, said lever being movable away from the bearing when the toggleis straightened, means controlled by the movement of the lever forre-establishing operative connection between the lever and togglewhereby the return of the lever toward said bearing will flex the toggleand permit the opening of the press head.

3. In a garment pressing machine, a frame, cooperative pressingelements, a toggle having one member pivoted to the frame and its othermember pivotally connected to one of the pressing elements, apedal-operated lever pivoted to the frame in a plane below thefirst-named pivot and engaging the secondnamed toggle member atgradually increasing distances from its pivot for straightening thetoggle, and additional means actuated by a continued movement of thelever for flexing the toggle from its straightened position.

4. In a garment pressing machine, a frame, a toggle having one of itsmembers pivoted to the frame and provided With a bearing member at thefront of the toggle joint, the other member of the toggle beingpivotally connected to one of the pressing elements, a pedaloperatedlever pivoted to the frame in a plane below and extended upwardly infront of and some distance above the first named toggle pivot and havingmeans to engage said bearing member at gradually increasing distancesfrom the pivotal connection of the toggle with the frame forstraightening the toggle when the lever is moved to one position, andcooperative means between said lever and the firstnamed toggle memberfor flexing the toggle from its straightened position as the movement ofthe lever is continued.

5. In a garment pressing machine, a frame, cooperative pressingelements, one of which is movable toward and from the other, toggleconnections between the frame and movable element, a pedal-operatedlever movable 3 from one position to another position for straighteningthe toggle, means for retracting said lever, means including a detentfor automatically limiting the retracting movement of the lever to anintermediate position, and 5 means actuated by a continued movement ofthe lever from its intermediate position against the action of theretracting means for tripping the detent and flexing the toggle from thestraightened position and allowing 3 the movable pressing element to beopened by said retracting means.

6. In a garment pressing machine, a frame, cooperative pressingelements, one of which is movable toward and from the. other, toggle 5connections between the frame and movable element,=a pedal-operatedlever movable from oneposition to another position for straightening thetoggle, means for retracting said lever,,meansqfor automaticallylimiting the retracting movement of the lever to an intermediateposition, a tooth on said lever, and a pawl on one of the toggle membersmovable into a position to be engaged by said tooth when the lever isretracted to its intermediate position whereby the operation of thelever from said intermediate position against its retracting means willcausethe flexing of the to gle from its straightened position.

Ina garment pressing machine, the combination with a movable pressingelement and a rocking support therefor, of means for operating therocking support including a toggle, a lever operable in one directionfor moving the toggle toward a straightened position, means forretracting the lever, a stop pawl carried by one of the toggle membersfor automatically engaging and preventing the return movement of thelever by its retracting means when straightening the toggle, said leverhaving an independent movement out of engagement with the stop pawl, andmeans actuated by said independent movement for flexing the toggle topermit the return movement of the rocking support and pressing elementcarried thereby, said stop pawl being movable out of engagement with thelever when the toggle is flexed to permit the return of said lever byits retracting means.

8. In a garment pressing machine, the combination with a movablepressing element and a rocking support therefor, of means for operatingthe rocking support including a toggle, a lever operable in onedirection for moving the toggle toward a straightened position, meansfor retracting the lever, a stop pawl carried by one of the togglemembers for automatically engaging and preventing the return movemenitof the lever by its retracting means when straightening the toggle, saidlever having an independent movement out of engagement with the stoppawl, and means actuated by said independent movement for flexing thetoggle to permit the return movement of the rocking support and pressingelement carried thereby, said stop pawl being movable out of engagementwith the lever when the toggle is flexed to permit the return of saidlever by its retracting means, said stop pawl having means for engagingand preventing re-bound of the toggle members when the latter are movedto a straightened position and engaged with the lever while said leveris in position to straighten the toggle.

9. In a garment pressing machine, the combination with a movablepressing element and a rocking support therefor, of means for operatingsaid support to force the pressing element to its pressing positionincluding a toggle, a lever for forcing the toggle to its straightenedposition, means for retracting said lever from its toggle straighteningposition, means carried by one of the toggle members for limiting theretracting movement of the lever by its retracting means, said leverbeing movable toward its toggle straightening position from its limitedretracting movement, and means actuated by 10 said independent movementof the lever for flexing the toggle to permit the opening movement ofthe rocking support and pressing element carried thereby.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my 15 hand this 14th day ofApril, 1925.

FRANK E. BAKER.

